“I don’t think any good came out of the last board meeting,” said Gonnelli. “I’m just offering if you want our help, we’re here to offer our help, in a, maybe, more peaceful manner. …If you don’t want our help, go the battle alone and at some point in time we may just have to step in and find a way to end it. …This is two years of nonsense, two years of reflecting badly on the community.”

The council unanimously passed a resolution last Tuesday proposing the mayor to facilitate discussion between the parties after a contentious public meeting of the school board which the mayor dubbed “ridiculous.”

“It’s a little too late, it should never have come to this,” said Board of Education trustee Tom Troyer, who said he supports mayoral intervention. “I’m glad you’re doing this and I hoped it would have been sooner.”

The measure passed by the council read, “Whereas there has been some discord between the teachers and administration, and whereas this friction has led to a vote of no confidence by the teachers association against the superintendent, and whereas there was a recent board of education meeting where these issues were aired and did not cast a favorable light on the public education specifically and the town generally…”

“There’s a lot of miscommunication and a lot of people are being misled,” said BOE trustee Dora Marra, who expressed frustration with the teachers union leadership. “We need a mediator, but it needs to be somebody who’s neutral. It has to be someone who’s not from town.”

Added Gonnelli: “There’s no one more impartial than me because I think both sides are one hundred percent wrong.”

Police Recruits: Five new recruits for the Secaucus Police Department were sworn in before the governing body as they enter the academy to be in line for duty later this year, taking over for retirements on the force.

Joshua Sigmund, Christopher Rinaldi, Christina Prospero, William Coski and William Smith are now probationary police officers for Secaucus’ finest. Four more recruits are slated for March to bring the force up to Police Chief Dennis Corcoran’s goal of 62.

The council also introduced an ordinance to assist recruiting of officers for Secaucus by allowing trasfers from other departments.

First Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas said it typically takes nine months to hire an officer. “We’re putting a few things in place just to make sure that our force remains strong and we have the safest town possible,” he said.

Keystone Update: Jeffas said the town has applied for a U.S. EPA grant for $200K for recommended studies in and around the contaminated Keystone site on Humboldt Street, like vapor intrusion into residences and ground water testing.

“We’re hoping we can get funding for it because the county gave us the funding for the most recent phase of testing, but there’s no additional funds there at this point in time to go forward,” he said.

Wells tested earlier this year around the site found contamination levels above state standards. Concentration has decreased over the past decade but has been minimal over the past seven years.

Recycling Contract: Secaucus will be getting a lot more for its recyclables under a new contract. The town’s previous deal was $15/ton for comingle (glass, alumnimu, plastic) but that figure will increase to $65/ton, according to Gonnelli. “It’s a credit to our residents and the amount time they take to source-separate their materials,” he said. “It created a much better marketing stream for us which is going to equate to several more thousand dollars taken in this year for recyclables.”

Red Light Cameras: Traffic cameras are still coming to Seacucus. Jeffas said the company tapped to install the electronic enforcement cameras is in the process of completing studies and will report back to the state Department of Transportation to get aprpoval for placing them at Secaucus intersections. The company is expected to come back to town officials with cost proposals for the program after DOT approval.

Gonnelli at Tuesday's council meeting.

Secaucus officials believe that getting those entities to pony up, or adding a charge for football and event tickets or parking at the Meadowlands, would end the onerous revenue-sharing formula that has Secaucus paying millions into a pool of municipalities in the area.

“It’s so simple,” said Mayor Mike Gonnelli. “The Rock just opened in Newark and they put a $3 surcharge on every ticket for Newark. IF they did the same thing here – a parking tax, a surcharge, an entertainment tax — there would be no more tax sharing. Secaucus wouldn’t be spendng $2.6M, $2.7M a year in tax sharing. This is just ridiculous.

“You look to get out of our town at 4:30 in the afternoon, you can’t get out,” said Gonnelli. “You look to get out of our town on a game day, you can’t get out. The Super Bowl is coming. We’re taking a beating. We’re getting a little over one million in state aid and this year we’re paying $2.6M in tax sharing. It’s an unfair thing that we’re subsidizing other communities in the district.”

The Secaucus resolution notes that neither the NJSEA not Giants have paid taxes since the facility opened in 2009, a loss of $2.5M plus interest for the borough. The resolution says the Giants and Jets pay only $5M in rent while collecting parking and events revenue, as well $17M per year from the naming rights to MetLife Stadium and $2.3M in naming rights from Timex.

Despite the lack of tax payments, East Rutherford says its officers are called on to respond to emergencies at the Meadowlands facilities.

The case has been pending in state tax court with an opinion expected later in 2012.

“The Mayor and Council of the Town of Secaucus heartily support the claims of the officials of the borough of East Rutherford that the property utilized by the NJSEA and Giants is not exempt from local real estate tax and that the borough is entitled to collect the appropriate amount of taxes and interest,” reads the measure.

“The day has come, we’re goiong to take the fight on — win or lose,” said Gonnelli.

The measure passed unanimously, 7-0.

Secaucus last year led a multi-town tax revolt against the tax-sharing fund, holding off its annual payment for two months in protest. Frustration with the fund pre-dates the Gonnelli administration, but despite some signs of interest in a change from the Christie administration, progress has been elusive.

Third Ward Councilwoman Susan Pirro said at Tuesday night’s meeting of the council that the the funds total $80,803, including 75 percent from the federal govnerment and 25% fom the state to cover costs like overtime for police, fire and DPW workers.

SUPERMARKET SEARCH: Third Ward Councilman Bill McKeever and 2nd Ward Councilman Jim Clancy looked at two possible grocery stores for Secaucus last week, including the high-end Fresh Market in Montvale and Aldi’s in East Rutherford.

Deputy Mayor John Bueckner

“The search is ongoing and we’re still looking for possibilities,” said McKeever.

DRAINAGE: The Department of Public Works has installed new drains in the Humboldt Street area to alleviate flooding and channel water to the nearby pump station, said 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas. Initial results after the recent rain have been positive, he added.

TABLED: The council tabled the award of a Paterson Plank Plaza improvement project to Covino & Sons Construction for $118,456 after a pre-meeting discussion could not resolve issues raised. It will be decided at the council’s Dec. 20 session.

PET SHOP: The Secaucus Animal Shelter has opened a temporary satellite location at the community center at 145 Front Street which is decked out for the holidays to promote adoption of pets.

NEW COPS: The council hopes to get six new police recruits into training in January, following retirements from the Secaucus PD. We definitely need an increase in man power there,” said Jeffas, who added that the Hudson County Sheriff will be providing a car to patrol the Mill Creek area, freeing up Secaucus PD to patrol in town.

Recruits who enter training in January could be ready for full-time status by November 2012.

BALL BOUNTY: The town’s first community ball last month was attended by more than 600 people and raised $40,000 for Tomorrow’s Children’s Fund, according to Pirro, who added that Wendy’s on Meadowlands Parkway also chipped in $2,500 for the TCF charity last month.

FILL-IN: Deputy Mayor John Bueckner of the 2nd Ward presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Mike Gonnelli, who is on vacation.

Town works who volunteer would have to make 50 calls, up from 40, to be eligible, under the new measure. Other new guidelines in the ordinance offer fire fighters more credits for training, as well.

“This incentive is going to help us get a greater response to fire calls,” said Fire Chief George Schoenrock, who said the Fire Department has answered about 700 fire calls so far this year.

Schoenrock also said the extra incentive could help to retain some of the older fire fighters, who are key for training younger members, as well as aid in recruitment.

The 120-year-old volunteer department has 86 members. Secaucus is one of only two municipalities (East Newark) with an all-volunteer department in Hudson County.

The ordinance passed unanimously, 6-0, with Mayor Mike Gonnelli abstaining because he is a volunteer.

PENHORN PUMP PROJECT: Hudson County said it will go out for bids to upgrade the St. Paul’s Avenue pump station which drains Hackensack River tributary Penhorn Creek.

“Hopefully that will solve some of the flooding we have down there, in the area along Penhorn Creek,” said 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas.

Cancellation of the ARC Tunnel project to New York has prompted the county to move on the project.

REC REPORT: The Secaucus Recreation Center picked up 17 members from the closing of Curves gym on Paterson Plank Road, according to Deputy Mayor John Bueckner.

Councilman John Bueckner at Tuesday night's council meeting.

At least one member of the council opposes increasing the allowed height from 30 feet to 35 feet, saying it could alter the suburban feel to areas of Secaucus.

The proposed ordinance, a response to overwhelming floods this summer as well as Secaucus’ historic water woes, would adopt a 35-foot, three-story  height ceiling — extending the existing 30-foot, two-story measure — to allow for basements to be above ground. Sunken driveways are seen as pathways for water to enter homes, as well.

The 35-foot limit would be in-line with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, which covers zoning for much of Secaucus.

The change would cover approximately 480 two-family homes and 18 one-family houses in town, according to Mayor Mike Gonnelli.

Raymond Leonard, a Board of Adjustment trustee for more than 30 years, said he had long been a proponent of the 30-foot heigh standard, but said he now supports a new 35-foot standard for flood zones. “It will give benefit and alleviate some of the problems for these people [in flood zones],” he said. “They have suffered enough.”

Second Ward Councilman John Bueckner said he is against the measure.

“I don’t think it’s aboslutely necessary we go to 35 feet,” he said, adding he is in favor of taking away basements in flood areas but fears contstruction of taller homes would “take away the ‘suburban-ness’ of Secaucus.”

Bueckner said a key aesthetic of Secaucus is a number of one-family houses in the 20-foot height range. “You’re going to get some very eager builders in,” he said. “You can see it now if you go around Secaucus, you can see some of these houses going up. They’re asking for variances and if they’re in the flood areas — like we’ve had in this last storm — the basements flooded, it’s a very sad situation.”

To illustrate his support for the measure, Gonnelli pointed to four duplexes on 10th Street — two at 35 feet with no basements or sunken driveways, and two at 30 feet with basements and sunken driveways. The latter flooded twice in the last year, he said, with seven feet water in both houses. “Our goal is to try to stop this repeptive flooding; people can’t live like that,” he said.

The ordinance, which will remain open until adoption by the Planning Board, will be up for further comment and adoption at the council’s Nov. 22 meeting.

The company conducted studies on the site to determine its feasibility.

“Just like the one before them, they don’t think there would be enough sales generated yet in that area for them to come,” said Mayor Mike Gonnelli.

The mayor said the town will continue to work to attract a supermarket, which he called a difficult task as companies are weary to compete with Wal-Mart in a relatively small town.

Flooding Update: Residents have three more weeks to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make claims related to Hurricane Irene, said 2nd Ward Councilman Jim Clancy. Applications for Small Business Administration loans are also due by Oct. 31.

Clancy reminded residents who were turned down by FEMA that they should appeal the decision. Gonnelli said a lot of applications were denied because insurance companies have not yet settled, which precludes FEMA action.

FEMA is set up at the Secaucus Library.

Gonnelli said three areas of town are on the immediate radar for flood relief projects. The mayor said Secaucus is applying for three mitigation grants from FEMA which became available after Hurricane Irene.

One will cover the collapsing berms in the area of Millridge Road, Meadow Lane, Farm Road, Acorn and Oak.

A second is for a new storm line in the area of Golden Ave. and Humboldt Streets. Gonnelli said the line that goes from Centre Ave. to the pump station is not large enough to handle a flood flow. “If we don’t get a grant, you have the word fo this governing body, we ill borrow the money and bond the money to do it because it’s been such a longstanding problem,” said Gonnelli. “People in that area shouldn’t have to live like that anymore.”

The third grant is to replace the storm line on Farm Road, another area of repetitive flooding. “With or without a grant, we’re going to proceed with that project,” he said.

A resident representing several Humboldt Street homeowners at Tuesday night’s public meeting of the mayor and council expressed concern that flooding was apparent during last week’s micro-burst and asked for a time line for mitigating such issues.

Gonnelli said changing the size of the line to the pump station should alleviate the problem, estimating a time line as “well within a year.”

With regard to reports of sewage backups, 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas said the town is getting quotes to look at sewage backups in water lines in a handful of locations in town, after incidents following Irene and other heavy rains.

Jeffas said the Secaucus Municipal Sewer Authority is funding the study to look at causes.

Tax-Sharing:  Gonnelli said officials are working to raise Secaucus’ retained shared tax revenues from the Meadowlands pool to 70 percent from the current level of 60 percent.

While the ultimate goal is to kill the tax-sharing between Meadowlands district towns, Secaucus could save abuot $700K in the first year of a percentage change, alone, said Gonnelli. The mayor said it could be reality for 2012 if all goes as planned.

Voting Deadline: The town clerk’s office will be open until 9 p.m. for voter registration on Tues., Oct. 18. Clerk Mike Marra noted it is the last chance to register to vote in November’s general election.

‘Burban donation: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has donated a Chevy Suburban with about 40K miles on it to the Secaucus Office of Emergency Management and Secaucus Fire Department.

Styro Ban: The governing body passed a resolution to ban the use of Styrofoam in town, an ambitious environmental initiative the mayor called a “step in the right direction.”

Gonnelli said the town will be asking restaurants that offer takeout to deplete any stocks of Styrofoam products and replenish inventory with biodegradable products.

Donation for the Dogs: Freshpet, a Secaucus-based company which markets fresh dog a cat food, has donated 400 pounds of its product to the town available on a monthly basis as needed, said 3rd Ward Councilwoman Susan Pirro.

Shetik Update: The ongoing revamp of Shetik Field is slated to be completed by November if all goes well, possibly sooner, said 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas.

Kudos: Congrats to 3rd Ward Councilman Bill McKeever (and his daughter) on the birth of his grandson, Noah.

Retail Vacancies: Resident Don Evanson expressed concern at Tuesday night’s meeting of the mayor and council about a number of retail vacancies in town, including pending departures of Entenmann’s Florist for Jersey City and the rumored exit of Curves gym.

“It’s a big problem,” said Mayor Mike Gonnelli of the unfilled retail space, especially in the Plaza area. Gonnelli said one factor is that local residents are not patronizing local restaurants enough to produce the foot traffic that would attract more businesses to the center of town.

He also said the owner of the Plaza has run into problems with current food tenants forbidding any other food vendors — the predominant business interested in the area — from renting there.

The mayor also noted rents are high for the Plaza in vowing to continue to work on the issue.

Flooding Issues: Flooding issues from Hurricane Irene related to the sewage treatment plant in town were the result of the eight inches of rain that fell and unusually high tides, according to a letter from Brian Bigler, executive director of the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority, sent to town officials.

Bigler said those conditions and not any breakdown at the facility were the cause of flooding and sewage distribution in areas like Mill Creek, Valley Court, Farm Road and other streets.

Second Ward Councilman Jim Clancy reiterated that residents who experienced damage should file their own insurance claims and a claim with FEMA.

Deputy Mayor John Bueckner said the significant flooding in the north end near Mill Ridge Road is being addressed by investigating how to raise the berm in the area that curbs river flow. The berm is shrinking from erosion and Bueckner said town officials are looking at necessary permits, state regulations and other factors to rectify the situation.

“It’s a little bit of a process but we want to make sure we do it right,” he said.

Street Improvements: The council unanimously approved a $525K bond ordinance to finance re-paving and improvements on several streets in town.

“We tried to do the streets that haven’t done in years,” said Mayor Mike Gonnelli. “We’re trying to take care of the streets that have been neglected.”

Streets covered include Washington Ave., Helen St., Blanche St., Laurel Court, Third Ave., and the center island area in the center of town.

Police Stats: First Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas said Secaucus Police recorded 175 moving violations, 71 arrests and 707 parking summonses during August.

Jeffas also said police officers are now stopping in to walk through Clarendon and Huber Street Schools as part of routine patrols during the day.

The town has also requested two county sherrif’s units to patrol the industrial areas of Secaucus, including Harmon Meadow, freeing up local police to focus more on residential zones, according to Jeffas.

“We pay a lot of county taxes and will be using these cars to help our police department,” said Gonnelli.

Construction Fees Rise: The Secaucus construction office has taken in $1,341,889 in fees so far in 2011, ” a lot more than we anticipated, which is a very, very good thing for our surplus for next year,” said 1st Ward Councilman Rob Costantino.

Bike Boon: The town’s bike auction last Saturday saw 31 confiscated or abandoned bikes auctioned off, raising $875.

Mayor Mike Gonnelli said flooding from Hurricane Irene hit areas flood prone from the Hackensack River, while sections of town that traditionally flood — Humboldt, Golden Ave., etc… — didn’t have many problems this year because the pump station for that area was rebuilt in recent years and worked to its capacity.

Gonnelli outlines flood-prone areas of Secaucus.

In the area toward the bottom of Hagan Place, Grace Ave., Julianne Terrace and Paulanne Terrace, the pump station at the bottom of Born Street discharges to the river but when the river comes up there’s nowhere for the water to go. Gonnelli said the pump station should have been put closer to the river.

Chestnut Place resident Stephen Badalamenti brought up a common flooding issue in town, noting the pool of water that accumulates often on Paterson Plank Road coming off Turnpike Exit 16E into town.

“If we have a trickle of rain, it’s a devastating flood,” he said. “There’s only one lane you can go through. It causes bottlenecks. Everything gets backed up and it’s been going on for 10 years.”

Gonnelli said the site is owned by the county and a key problem has been that the drainpipe for the area is silted to the top. “I’ve been involved in public works for 30 years and it hasn’t been done in that time period,” he said, adding the town is working the county to get the project done.

There are four pump stations in Secaucus, three owned by the town.

One problem has been the county-owned St. Paul’s Avenue pump station, which pumps water from Secaucus Road and has not been functioning. The town has deployed six emergency pumps — two from Secaucus, two from the county, and two from the Meadowlands Commission — to pump the water off the road. The repair was expected to go out for bids late last week, said the mayor.

The other three pump stations are at the bottom Born Street, Golden Ave. (rebuilt during the Elwell administration), and the high school station on Mill Ridge Road. All have backup power except the county pump.

Moving forward, Gonnelli said town officials are talking with engineers to gauge the grades of all berms with the intent to raise them back to their intended level of elevation 10, where they are likely settled to a grade of 8 or 9 currently.

“The water did come right over the berms,” he said. “This was a pretty bad storm.”

The town also plans to investigate outlets to the river that do not have tide gates in areas like the bottom of Huber Street, Koelle Boulevard, Central, sections of Mill Ridge Road and Farm Road.

“They’re just tidal areas,” he said. “Our portion of the Hackensack River is tidal. A tidal surge came in. …We are an island. It crested over Meadowlands Parkway. We had three feet of water in Harmon Cove. you can’t fix them all but we’re going to chip away at them.”

Gonnelli said an easement is underway in the area of Farm Road and the bottom of Meadow Lane to bring a line out to the river which will be gated and include a pump. The funds have been allocated and officials are hoping to begin that project in the near future.

Lester Elwell, brother of former mayor Dennis Ewell who lives in that area on Farm Road, and another resident pressed the council on the area. Gonnelli said the town budgeted $250K, hired an engineer, went through an easement process with the Riverview development, and filed with the Army Corp of Engineers. The design is complete but the easement has not yet been finalized, he said.

“We are going to look at every single thing we can do,” Gonnelli said of the flooding.

The governing body is also expected to introduce an ordinance this fall to prohibit anyone in the town’s flood zone from putting in a basement or a sunken driveway.

NEW LIFE FOR DAYCARE BUILDING: The mayor and council approved a lease agreement with the board of education to use the town’s recently shuttered daycare facility as a preschool.

“By working together, we were able to free some classroom space up at Clarendon and Huber and utilize that building for a really good purpose,” said Mayor Mike Gonnelli.

The daycare center in the brick building off the Plaza was losing about $105K a year before it was closed down in mid-July.

MEADOWLANDS SLOWDOWN: The governing body approved a reduction in the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on Meadowlands Parkway between the two exit and entrance ramps to Route 3 East and West.

The 25 mile-an-hour speed limit signs are up now, dangerous intersection signs are up, a new stop sign on Wood Avenue is up, and the lines will be re-striped on Wood Avenue, said Jeffas.

COMMERCIAL PROJECTS: Prologics is constructing two buildings in back of Mansfield Avenue and the town plans on setting up 1st and 3rd Ward public meetings to discuss the project and let residents voice any concerns.

Packing delivery giant DHL has taken over 10 Enterprise Avenue and Mayor Mike Gonnelli said a meeting for residents of nearby Pandolfi Avenue is in the works.

SHETIK DELAY: Construction efforts to install a new turf surface at Shetik Field have been slowed as workers hit rock in the surface, according to First Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas.

Workers estimate as much as 30 days in lost time because of the problem.

“They have to excavate a lot of [the rock] so they indicate its going to slow down the project and it might even change the location of where they put lighting and stuff, based upon what they find,” said Jeffas.

Secaucus landed a $450,000 Green Acres grant earlier this year to install the synthetic turf field.

Jeffas said work on Ivanoski Park (Charles Street) is about two weeks from completion as fencing and landscaping work winds down.

CLARENDON ‘CUT’: The town council applied for grant funding to revamp Fifth Street toward Centre Ave. with a goal to “cut” into the Clarendon School property to allow buses (only) to drive up to the front of the school and alleviate some traffic in front of the property.

AUDIT ACTION: The town’s 2010 audit has been completed with five recommendations coming back to the governing for “corrective action,” said 1st Ward Councilman Rob Costantino. Remedies for the five issues were adopted as part of an action plan adopted by the council at the meeting last week.

“I feel we now have a better set of numbers upon which our in-house general ledgers can be updated, which ultimately lend a great hand to us as council members in making various financial decisions,” said Costantino.

A key recommendation of the auditors was improvement of financial information flow, which is being solved with new software aimed to integrate Secaucus’ various financial accounting systems.

Costantino said the council has made a “great commitment” to Secaucus’ financial reporting and accountability for the public, including more timely filing of statements, adopting a budget within a state time frame and completing the audit much faster than in the past.

REC FIGURES: Pool memberships totaled $203,500 for the 2011 season, up about $10,000 over 2010, said 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner. Numbers are not yet final.

Bueckner said there are 777 total members of which 618 are local residents.

The rec center counts 1,908 new members this yeaar, including 833 renewals for 2,7041 total members, a reflection of a steep price cut.

HURRICANE THANKS: Third Ward Councilman Susan Pirro publicly thanks the Seacaucus Office of Emergency Management for its “superb” performance during Hurricane Irene.

Pirro said 27 volunteers work throughout the night of the storm to help residents with various issues.

Third Ward Councilman Bill McKeever singled out Donna Prajonski for responding to 288-289 Hagen Place to assist two women. “There was four and a half feet of water that didn’t stop here,” he said. “She’s less than five feet but she went right through the water and got them out.”

Meadowlands Hospital CEO Tom Gregorio and Dr. Richard Lipsky were given commendations for setting up an emergency room at Huber Street School which saw between 15 and 20 patients, three in critical condition, during Hurricane Irene.

The town council also feted the town’s ambulance crew — provided by Meadowlands hospital — for their service.

All were given “Above and Beyond” awards and ceremonial keys to the town.

Goldsack, who has filled in for admitted bilker and jail-bound former tax collector Alan Bartolozzi since 2009, takes over an $88,000-a-year position created to collect taxes and oversee finances for the town.

Mayor Mike Gonnelli said the $800K tax office scandal, coupled with the discovery of millions of dollars in uncollected funds and old bond money never used necessitated the move. Gonnelli said as much as $10M went uncollected or unused over the last decade.

The mayor said the new position carries the dual roles but pays a salary less than the $100K Bartolozzi would have been making as tax collector had he still been on the job.

FILM PUSH: The reinstatement of New Jersey’s tax credit for film and TV productions is seen as a possible boost to Secaucus, said 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas.

The tax credit was nixed in 2010 by the Christie administration but brought back this year through 2015. It offers productions with 60% of funding in New Jersey a 20% credit for qualified expenses like operations, construction, and photography.

The incentive helped a few productions base their sets in Secaucus, including NBC’s “Mercy” in 2009-10.

“When you see the stats of what a production like that brings to a town – they stay in our hotels, have lunch in our delis and eat in our

restaurants – it’s a tremendous amount of money,” said Gonnelli. “The average job is a $50K job.”

Jeffas added: “We’re hoping this will bring them back into the area and the warehouses that aren’t being used.”

Gonnelli has been in talks with Hartz and other players to work on getting productions back to town. “This could be a boon for us,” he said.

HEAT WAVE: The oppressive heat in recent weeks has been a blessing for the finances of the town pool. After 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner in June reported the pool to be $8,000 behind 2010 figures, the facility is now $17,000 ahead of last year.

Bueckner said the hot weather coupled with earlier openings and later closings has boosted revenue.

The pool had brought in $150K through mid July, compared with $133K last year.

“We’re doing very well on the pool end of it,” he said.

REC CENTER: Bueckner said the rec center now has 2,463 members, up from 1,800 in 2010 when the membership was significantly more costly. He also said a small cafe added for members’ convenience has turned into an unexpected money-maker with about $3,000 in revenue.

Gonnelli said two grants totaling up to $10K will go to build a meditation garden in rear of the rec center. The mayor, who said he saw a bald eagle near the spot recently, said the outdoor space can be used for classes in yoga or thai-chi or just for residents to relax or pray.

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE: Third Ward Councilman Susan Pirro is urging residents to report any overgrown or ill-maintained properties to the newly constituted board of health.

An inspector will be dispatched to review the complaint.

Clancy said the town is moving to adopt international property maintenance codes to clarify guidelines for keeping up the town’s appearance.

He also noted that a common complaint of wild animals and trash can often be avoided by residents following current codes for garbage. He said town code requires garbage to be in a receptacle, not placed outside in a bag. The town also requires that garbage not be put out for collection until 6 p.m. the night before.

RIBBON-CUTTING: Second Ward Councilman Jim Clancy said the construction work to revamp Blondel and Charles Street parks  is nearing completition.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for Aug. 13.

A long anticipated meeting between local officials and representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency finally took place in late June as 2nd Ward Councilman Jim Clancy said council members, Mayor Mike Gonnelli and administrator David Drumeler attended to press the federal agency on behalf of residents who say they are unnecessarily required to carry flood coverage.

Clancy said last week that a new flood zone map of the town is in the works and expected by next year. He encourages residents who feel they are in a flood zone without warrant to petition FEMA via its MT-1 form (link to instructions and documents).

“There is a chance that you can come off of the flood zone,” he said, after noting that Secaucus officials cannot guarantee that any residents will be removed from such a zone.

“We’re working on it and will hopefully meet with [FEMA] during the course of the year,” he said.

CONSTRUCT FEES RISE: Collection of construction fees continues to rise in Secaucus, a sign of improving economic conditions as revenue has passed the high-water mark of 2007.

First Ward Councilman Rob Costantino said last week that $761,061 has been collected this year, nearly double last year’s figure of $395K. It also surpasses the record $694K in fees paid in 2007 before the 2008 economic crisis cripple the housing market.

“It’s a good thing for the economy, things are picking up, people are taking out permits and such,” said Costantino.

On the flip side, however, court fees are up $30K to $275K.

PD STATS: Secaucus Police reported 198 moving violations (cellphone, radar) in May, along with 650 parking violations and 76 arrests, according to 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas.

REC CENTER BOOST: The cash-strapped Koelle Boulevard rec center could receive a solid revenue boost as a Deputy Mayor John Bueckner said he anticipates the Jersey Flyers swim club will sign a $25K-a-year pact to rent lanes of the center’s indoor pool year-round.

Bueckner said the deal would enable to rec center to rent out the lanes without closing the rest of the pool for members. He also said the deal could burnish the rec center as a site for swim meets, which can be lucrative for such facilities to host.